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When The BC DVD ABC began in the Express in 2004, it had three times the space it occupied by the time the feature ended in the paper in December 2008. In the glorious old days I was allowed to write what I wanted to say about the film, not what could be crammed into whatever space was left after the sudoku puzzle was laid out on the page. New BC DVD ABC reviews on this website will adopt the original approach of doing justice (or as close as I can get to it, anyway) to the film. If you compare the reviews of Apocalypse Now – The Complete Dossier and Apocalypse Now Redux you will see the difference. On Sundays (sometimes Mondays), the ABC will either declare compulsory library DVDs or review new or newish DVDs releases whether good or bad.
Three Cheers for 400 Blows
User Rating:
/ 0THE BC DVD ABC marks its own return to BCRaw.com with one of the great films of all time, the feature-length debut – and, for some, the masterpiece – of the great French filmmaker, Francois Truffaut.
This year, Les Quatre Cents Coups – The 400 Blows – is 50 years old; and it still looks better than Madonna (who is older than the film by a year). The world would be a better place if everyone who has seen Madonna in concert were to rent the DVD of The 400 Blows and watch it closely.Almost completely autobiographical, the film tells the story of an adolescent boy who is brimming with life in the city of Paris but slowly being throttled by school and family. His mother, caught up with her husband, who is not the boy’s father, cares for him – but not enough to make any adjustment in her own life to make his better. School is an imposition on his time and a restraint on his spirit.
The title, which non-French speakers take literally, fits the film
This Comedy Goes to Eleven!
User Rating: / 0ARGUMENTS OVER THE best drama, thriller, horror, Western and all other genres bar one could go on forever (or long enough to seem like it). Like everyone else in the video club, the BC DVD ABC has very strong, clear and well-founded judgments of which film tops which list and is prepared to defend its choice. You have to come good dramatically (both literally and figuratively) to topple, for example, The Godfather I & II, the film that began this personal library series, or the Apu Trilogy, the last selection made in this space two weeks ago. Of all the categories, though, the BC DVD ABC feels its easiest defence would be in the realm of comedy.
There are many funny movies that rely on visual humour. Watching Peter Sellers’ The Party at De Luxe 30 years ago,
The Real Indian Movie...
User Rating:
/ 2NOTWITHSTANDING THE POWERFUL claims of the French, Japanese and Chinese, the BC DVD ABC, given its several strong ties to the sub-continent, could not conceive of having its first foreign film come from anywhere other than India – provided there was an Indian film good enough to knock out contenders as mighty as Three Colours, Ran and Ju Dou. The exceedingly good news for West Indian film fanatics who favour curry is that there are actually three such films.
The Apu trilogy, the great work of the late Satyajit Ray, India’s foremost filmmaker, stands every test thrown at it: time; language; setting; technical shortcomings; and stands triumphant. The Apu trilogy constitute three (or one, depending on how you look at it, one) of the greatest films ever made by anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Ray (1921-1992) wrote and directed all three